The present invention relates to an assembled waterbed construction and, more particularly, to an assembled waterbed construction which is distributed as a packaged unit wherein the waterbed frame and water filled mattress are constructed to provide a comfortable sleep surface.
In prior waterbed constructions the waterbed frame generally includes a platform or decking board surrounded by vertical walls forming a cavity for a non-structured waterbed mattress. There is a waterproof liner which fits between the frame cavity and waterbed mattress. The waterbed mattress fills the cavity of the frame structure as shown in the waterbed constructions of U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,761,974, issued to Kass, and 4,015,299, issued to Tinnel.
Labianco, U.S. Pat. No. 3,840,921, and Alsbury et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,742,531, disclose waterbed constructions of molded foam plastic having inclined vertical perpherial walls and a recessed surface forming a cavity. Wainstein, U.S. Pat. No. 3,456,270, also discloses a waterbed construction wherein the side walls are inclined.
Carson et al, U.S. Pat. No. 3,736,604, disclose a waterbed mattress with internal baffle dampers welded to the top inside surface. The purpose of the baffles is to dampen water wave action of the waterbed mattress. Labianco also discloses baffles in a waterbed mattress for the same purpose.
Each of the above waterbed constructions has been made in an attempt to overcome features of waterbeds which have detracted from waterbeds being more widely accepted. While some of the inherent problems of waterbeds have been recognized, these constructions have not completely overcome the problems they intended to solve.
One of the major considerations in purchasing a waterbed has been the distributive weight factor of a water filled mattress. The weight of a king size waterbed of standard construction may be as much as 2,000 pounds. Many buildings are not designed to support this much weight on a relatively small floor space. Alsbury, et al, and Tinnel, cited above, have to some degree solved the weight problem by replacing the ordinary water filled mattress with a smaller water filled mattress and by including an increased amount of foam padding in the frame construction.
Another consideration in purchasing a waterbed is whether the assembly will be difficult to set up once it has been delivered and whether the assembly is waterproof. While packaged assemblies have not been a subject for patenting in the past, Alsbury, et al, and Tinnel do show waterbed constructions that could be distributed as a packaged unit; however, they do not afford maximum protection against water leakage.
A third consideration is personal comfort. One universal problem with waterbeds is the water wave action created by a person's movement. As a person moves, the water in the water filled mattress is displaced by the person's weight is setting up a transverse wave action. The wave strikes the frame structure and is returned transversely. This type of wave action creates a rolling effect which has been known to make some users sea-sick and, in rare cases, users have actually been thrown out of a bed. Labianco attempts to overcome the wave action problem by including baffles joined to the top and bottom surfaces of the water filled mattress. The mattress is placed within the cavity formed by the inclined perpherial walls of a supporting frame with the periphery of the mattress resting on the peripheral top edge of the frame. The wave action is partially dampened by the baffles in the mattress and the inclined walls of the frame; however, some of the force of the wave is carried to the periphery of the mattress where it is returned transversely across the mattress, creating some wave action. Carson, as stated, shows baffles suspended from the interior top surface of a water filled mattress. The Carson arrangement is limited in that the water filled mattress extends above the frame structure and any secondary wave action will push against the unframed portion of the mattress where the mattress will bulge and the wave will subsequently rebound.